Modern
fables can be interpreted as today's parables, renditions of an essential truth
under the guise of fantasy or the phantasmagorical. When the truth portrayed
relates to war and its aftermath, the use of fable can convey the devastation
of this experience without confining it to specific geographical or cultural
boundaries. Two short stories from Phan Huy Duong's Un Amour métèque: nouvelles
(1944) fall into this category. The writer's adaptation of fable as the
foundation for "Un Squelette d'un milliard de dollars" and
"Vacance", is an effective way of conveying the impact of a conflict
that extended well beyond Vietnam and marked so strongly both France and the
United States. Both provide a compelling commentary on the Vietnam War and its
enduring legacy.

·Nguyen, N.H.C. (2002). Images
of Postwar Vietnam in Phan Huy Duong's A Foreign Love: Short Stories.
Conflict and Culture Conference: War and Terror in the Modern Age. Research Group
for War, Society and Culture. School of Liberal Arts. Newcastle: The University
of Newcastle. (Invited speaker)